Using assessment centres to recruit
Featured in the The Competencies Activity Pack training manual
By Roger Pattison & Andrea Moffat
Category: Competencies
Credit price: 4 download credits (Single user)
An assessment centre is a group of specific work-related exercises that job applicants undertake in order to assess their potential for success in a given job. The exercises often include some or all of the following: interview; presentation; team task; discussion group; psychometric test; numeracy and communication test; individual task; mini-project. The assessment centre is designed to reflect the future needs of the recruiting organisation. Each exercise is included because it enables the assessors to check and predict job performance. Interviews alone are poor at making that prediction. Assessment centres can be expensive to run; however, they do have distinct benefits: selection is likely to be more accurate, candidates not succeeding have a much higher regard for the company, assessment centres help assess current and future skills and competencies needed in the job, and the successful candidate is already part-inducted using this process. This activity raises participants' awareness of the elements and the benefits of using an assessment-centre approach to recruiting staff.
This activity is a facilitated group discussion which you direct and guide using a series of set questions. At each stage, the participants discuss, and their responses are recorded on sheets of flipchart paper. The participants first examine the cost of recruitment and the issue of return on investment by selecting the right person for the job. They go on to look at assessing competencies in assessment centres and the exercises used to provide more information about candidates and their ability to do the job - what they can do as well as how they perform. Next, the participants discuss the benefits of assessment-centre selection for candidates and the organisation. They study in some detail the planning and management of an assessment day and the role of assessors. The activity closes with a review of the key points the participants raised about an assessment-centre day, and a call for them to start planning and preparing their own versions of an assessment centre.
Who is it for: This training activity is intended for use by trainers with participants to raise in awareness of the benefits of using assessment centres to recruit staff.
| Resource Type: | Activity |
| Min Group Size: | 4 |
| Max Group Size: | 20 |
| Typical Duration: | 01:50:00 |
| No of Pages: | 23 |
Resources: View standard resources for Fenman training activities
Additional resources: Five sheets of prepared flipchart paper.
Purpose: This training activity is intended for use by trainers for recruitment purposes. However, it can be adapted for use with development centres, as shown below. Assessment centres: use this training activity with a group of trainers, HR staff or managers who are considering using an assessment-centre process to recruit and select staff. The activity raises awareness of what to expect, the benefits and disadvantages, the possible exercises and what the assessment criteria can be used for. Development centres: the principles and approach are the same as for assessment centres, except that you assess internal candidates against specific criteria to determine their skill level and development/training needs. You choose individual tasks which will allow an informed judgement of the development needs of those participating, because these are the skills the organisation has identified as intrinsic to its success. This then supports the training needs analysis, succession planning and the development of staff to achieve the strategic objective in the business plan.
Download the training activity, Using assessment centres to recruit as featured in the Fenman training manual; The Competencies Activity Pack